Swimming with the Shark (Rev Kevedd)
by AzulAzurite
Summary: Kevin didn't like the idea of going camping with his parents for the weekend and swimming in the lake. But he didn't want to admit to his dad that he can't really swim all that well. So he tries to teach himself how to swim at the neighborhood pool when no one else is around. Or so he thought… If you enjoyed the story please leave a like and review. Just don't throw rocks at me.


Kevin groaned as he stood at the edge of the pool, his deep green eyes staring at the small ripples as a breeze gently pushes them along the clear surface. It was a clear Friday, no clouds in the sky and the air felt cool and comfortable. However, the nice outside air did not reflect the red head's current mood. He sighs to himself, wishing he didn't have to go camping with his parents next weekend. But they _insisted_ that they have some family quality time away from others. Only two days really. Too many days for Kevin though. He much rather be either in his bedroom or in the garage tinkering away at mechanical things. Robots always fascinated the boy ever since his parents got him a small toy robot for Christmas one year. He was about ten years old at the time and he still remembers how he would deliberately take apart that small toy robot and then carefully put it back together. Even since then it became a habit for the young nerd to disassemble mechanical and non-mechanical objects. This included some of his gaming consoles. It was how he taught himself how things work, which pieces were important and why. As he got older he discovered that not only did he develop a passion for it, was he at peace while doing so, and it was also very therapeutic to him. It would distract his mind from the stresses of school. He had a few but very close friends that always were willing to lend a hand during those stressful times. It was the reason why he hanged out with them during most high school. During these past weeks, they saw less and less of each other due to projects, essays, and upcoming major tests. Seems like everyone has been busy, leaving little time to hang out again.

Kevin's tendency to be in his room more often and for longer periods, didn't go unnoticed by his parents. So not only did they insisted to have family time together, his dad wants to take Kevin to a lake house and go swimming; as well as other activities, such as hiking, fishing, watch the wildlife, scenic driving etc. So, since they had so many activities in mind they told Kevin that he wasn't allowed to bring his robot. His parents _knew_ that if they did allow their son to bring _anything_ mechanical, Kevin wouldn't be interested in doing anything else. Great….

Swimming was the activity that Kevin wasn't looking forward to. You see, it wasn't because Kevin didn't like the water, or that he wasn't a good swimmer, or how he tends to have a slight mental freak out when his toes no longer touch the bottom. No. He didn't like the water because of what happened back at school one day. To be more specific, it was cause of a bully, a bully that he knew all too well. A bully to be more precise. A predator, a wolf, or more appropriately titled…the Shark of Peach High School. Eddward Vincent. Anyone who knew that name understood the term "fear". Eddward is a physically fit swimmer and someone who could hold his own in a fight. As a bully, he was never physically violent, maybe a little rough, but he had other ways to terrify his targets. Mind games were his favorite, and anyone who tried to verbally defend themselves will lose and have their self-esteem plummet to the ground and beyond. And if they _did_ try to physically do something, Eddward would order his two "friends" (more like minions) Jimmy and Johnny to do the dirty work for him. However, there were a few cases where Eddward himself sent a few foolish students from the football team to the hospital. Jimmy and Johnny were probably sick or more likely in detention when that happened. Rumors were that Eddward attacked first, because everyone knew he was a bully. By "bully" they just assume the Shark attacked first. That's what the typical bully does after all. So, it wasn't illogical to come to that conclusion. On the other side, Kevin knew better. Kevin knew that it was self-defense. He saw it for himself while hiding behind a corner. He saw just how vicious Edd could be if his mind games didn't work and the students were dumb and persistent and simply wouldn't leave Edd alone. Not that anyone would really believe him. Kevin never really told his friends about what he saw either. He decided to keep that information to himself. Kevin wasn't never violent either but he did and still has a short temper. So, when the Shark and the Nerd confronted each other for the first time, he's pretty damn sure that he was probably the **only** student who bravely (more like foolishly) fought back verbally. This only ended in terror when he was pinned against a locker and a growling Shark in his face. After that, Kevin ended up as the Shark's favorite target.

From that day forward, the Shark would, for some unknown reason, would order Kevin to attend his swim meets where he competes with other swimmers from other schools. He never understood why really. Clearly Eddward didn't like Kevin and Kevin hated Eddward's guts. Not that Kevin really had much of a choice. He much rather attend these annoying swim meets than to suffer Jimmy and Johnny's wrath. This was where Kevin's dislike of water originated from. Jealousy? Perhaps. Or it could've been that one time after-school where some dumb jocks thought it would be funny to throw Kevin into the school's pool…. With a pissed off Eddward in it. It was the most terrifying thing that ever happened to him. Memories of that sinister death glare with stone cold, blue eyes followed by frantic splashing from the small nerd as he scrambles to flee from the Shark as quickly as possible. He clearly remembers choking on some of the water has his lungs and arms burn to push through the water that felt would be his grave. The Shark sliced through the clear water and grabbed Kevin's leg just before the smaller boy was climbing out of the pool but suddenly let go after Kevin accidently kicked him in the arm in his panicked-stricken haste to flee. Kevin is sure that Eddward was having a bad day that day. Otherwise he's sure that the shark would've just stared at him until he left, and _then_ terrorize him later. Yeah…That's why Kevin didn't like the water. He had nightmares for at least a week after that. Ok so maybe it wasn't entirely Eddward's fault that Kevin was quite literally thrown into that situation. Kevin still tended to blame the Shark anyways.

So after a minute or two passed the red heard finally takes a tentative step into the cool water. One foot after the other as he descends the steps until he is in the shallow end of the pool. It was moments like this that he was glad he was alone. Earlier today Kevin made sure that the lifeguard wasn't at her post. Kevin then lockpicked the gate to open it. Kevin knew very well that not having a lifeguard here was very risky but he didn't really care. He much rather be by himself rather feel that he was being silently judged. As he slowly inches closer to the deep end of the pool he remembers how this area of the playground was empty, save for some thin trees and a few bushes since the playground was near a wooded area. Even Eddward, who would sometimes use the pool whenever the natatorium was unavailable, wasn't around either. A perfect moment to focus on his goal to learn to swim.

At first Kevin thought it was pointless and silly to add a neighborhood pool. He thought no one would really use it. There weren't that many children in the neighborhood and most of the kids in the cul-de-sac were too busy with school work and projects to have any time to swim. Maybe except for when school was out for the summer but that was about it. Then again, he recalls how some of the kids did have a fun time swimming even before school was out for summer. So…maybe not so pointless. Heck, if Kevin _does_ manage to learn to swim he may even invite his friends to hang out at the pool someday. Yeah, that sounds nice.

The moment his toes no longer touch the bottom, Kevin immediately grabbed the pool's ledge. He didn't even officially start yet and already he feels that this might be harder than it looks. God damn freaking Shark makes it look so freaking easy. Ugh. He mumbles under his breath and tells himself to relax. He can do this, he just needs to focus. His eyes glances on the ledge at the opposite end of the pool. Alright, first step, launch off the ledge and "swim" to the opposite side. Good, yes, let's do this. He twists his body around so that his back is resting on the ledge and that both his hands are holding onto. He then lifts his legs and bends them so his feet are up against the wall. Narrowing his eyes at his goal he counts down… _3, 2, 1,…_ With a forceful push, he launches himself straight into the deep end of the pool and uses his arms to breaststroke (at least the best breaststroke he could manage) to the other side. He was about four feet away from his destination before he suddenly lost control and started flailing. _Crap, crap, crap, crap! Oh!_ His hand latches onto the ledge and the small pulls himself towards it panting. He groans again. This really _is_ going to be tougher than he thought.


End file.
